5.7k views
2 votes
A nurse is assessing the pulse rate of a 2-month old infant. Which of the following would the nurse document as a normal finding?

a) 110 bpm
b) 75 bpm
c) 140 bpm
d) 65 bpm

User Corbett
by
8.0k points

1 Answer

1 vote

Final answer:

A nurse would document a pulse rate of 65 bpm as abnormally low for a 2-month old infant, as the normal range is 120-160 bpm. The percent uncertainty of a pulse rate measurement such as 130 ± 5 beats/min can be calculated, indicating the reliability of the measurement.

Step-by-step explanation:

Normal Pulse Rate for a 2-month old Infant

When assessing the pulse rate of a 2-month old infant, a nurse would consider a normal finding to be within the range of 120 to 160 beats per minute (bpm). Therefore, a pulse rate of 65 bpm would be documented as abnormally low for an infant of this age. In fact, a normal resting heart rate for newborns (0-2 months) can range from 120 bpm to 160 bpm. The heart rate can vary depending on various factors such as crying, sleeping, and activity level. It's important for healthcare professionals to monitor the heart rate along with other Apgar criteria, which include skin color, reflex, muscle tone, and respiration.

To assess the accuracy of a measurement like pulse rate, the percent uncertainty can be calculated. For instance, if an infant's pulse rate is measured to be 130 ± 5 beats/min, the percent uncertainty is found by dividing the absolute uncertainty by the measured value and then multiplying by 100. In this case, it would be (5/130) * 100, equating to approximately 3.85%. This measures the reliability of the pulse rate reading. When working out the average heart rate over extended periods, such as 2 years, seconds are generally converted to minutes, hours, days, and years to find the total beats over that time.

User Will WP
by
7.8k points